Digging up the Future
by N.C.Faraway
Summary: A young River Song  AU  has her first encounter with the Doctor as an adult...
1. Chapter 1

"I've found something!"

The young girl laid down her trowel. "No one hear me? I've found something!"

A few of the older people murmured from their huddle underneath the white plastic canopy a few metres away. The girl sighed. She hated it when they did this. Ok, so she was young and sometimes, a little cocky, but did everyone have to be so _rude? _"No one interested?"

The others continued to ignore her. The girl picked up the trowel again, "Right," she grumbled, "I'll just keep on digging, shall I? I could have dug my own grave by now!" She continued tilling away at the soil. 'Now, be careful,' she thought, 'There's no knowing how old this is.' She looked at the hard blue solid, protruding from the ground. Just a small glimpse of what lay underneath but promising enough to make her dig further. As she dug, she began to age it mentally. 'Blue – Copper ions. At least a few centuries old then.' She scraped away, gently, eager to see what the mysterious object was, which, as she dug, was proving to be much bigger than she had anticipated. 'Not pottery,' she thought, 'Far too firm.' She took off her gloves and touched it. 'Wood,' she concluded firmly, 'Must be blue paint, then.' She groaned at this realisation – it couldn't be that old. 'Could be iron age,' she thought, trying to be optimistic, 'Like in Heuneburg.' She scraped away a little more at the curious object, buried underneath the ground and then stopped. She came across something soft and white. 'Paper?' she thought, 'Rather erroneous.' She took out her brush and it suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't recorded any of her observations. She pulled out her voice recorder from her pocket – then realised it wasn't working and tossed it to the ground in exasperation. 'I'll have to do it manually, then,' she noted and pulled over her bag. Fumbling within it, she pulled out her diary and pen, opened it on the right page and wrote: Found what appears to be blue wooden object. Uncovered paper adhered to it. Paper reads…" and then put the pen down. "Let's find out, big boy," she smiled and took out her brush, sweeping away delicately at the paper. She began to uncover letters – a P! 'Latin alphabet!' she wrote on the open page, 'Possibly Roman artefact.' She continued sweeping – an O, then an L…I…C…E…B…O…X. Her heart sank. "Police box?" she whispered aloud, "Police box?" She threw the brush at it. "I came all this way to dig up a police box?" She cursed her luck. Some joker must have decided to bury it as a gag in a known archaeological site. 'Great joke!' she thought, 'There goes my chance at a future!' She beat her hands against the ground and lay there, nearly sobbing.

It was at this point that she was aware of movement nearby, something animated, in motion. She looked up at her diary that was lying on the ground by her head. From there, it almost appeared as if – yes, the words were writing themselves! She pulled it to her and looked down at the page. Words were appearing on the page in a scrawled, messy handwriting. "Keep digging, River!" She stared in amazement. The words kept writing themselves, then disappearing, and writing themselves again. "Keep digging, River!" She sighed. Keep digging. 'Easy for you to say,' she thought, staring down at the paper, 'I'm the one doing all the work.' But the mystery of the words stirred her and, shutting the diary for fear of distraction, she picked up the trowel and continued. "Why do _all _these weird things happen to _me?_" she complained aloud. A stern voice called, "River! Time to pack up! It looks like it's going to rain!"

"I'll be alright!" she called back, "I don't mind getting wet!" This, of course, was a blatant lie but her curiosity drove her on. 'If curiosity killed the cat, then that's one hell of a way to go!' was her philosophy. She smiled as the murmurs of the other archaeologists faded and the silence of the surrounding forest took over. She looked up at the greying sky. It _was _going to rain. 'Still,' she thought, 'if I hurry, I might just miss it.' She carried on digging.

After three more hours, she threw her shovel down. She had given up with the trowel long ago. She had uncovered the doors of the police box by now and it seemed to have been buried facing up. Suddenly, she heard a rumble. Thunder. Nowhere to take shelter – the canopy had been taken down. But she didn't want to leave the dig alone, worthless as it was. She looked down at the police box. 'I shouldn't,' she thought but she looked up at the dark thunderclouds overhead, 'But that doesn't mean I'm not going to. I'll be dry, at least.' She sat down on top of one of the doors and, with her feet, pushed the other open. It was completely dark inside but the dark had never scared her and she slipped off the door inside.

Next thing she knew, she was falling, a long, long distance, down and down and down. Then, an enormous splash. Light. She kicked at the water. 'Swim to the surface, River, swim to the surface.' She kicked back and held her breath. In a moment, she was at the surface of the water and looking up at a man in tweeds who was grinning all over. "Hello!" he chirped, "You could have knocked, you know!"

She snarled angrily and splashed the water. "Get me out of here, you idiot!" With the help of the man's hand and mostly her own strength, she pulled herself onto the side of what now appeared to be a gigantic swimming pool. She sat on the floor, coughing and spluttering for a moment, the man looking down sympathetically at her. She was on her feet in a second though and with one sweeping gesture of her hand, slapped his face so hard that he stumbled back and she had to hold his jacket to stop him falling in the pool itself.

"Ow!" cried the Doctor, in a hurt tone, "Is that for something I've done?"

She nodded, "Yes," she replied, "It is."


	2. Chapter 2

He extended a hand to her, "I'm the Doctor." She took it.

"River Song."

"Yes, I know."

She looked at him, an expression of bewilderment and anger on her face. "You know?"

"Yes," he replied, looking down at his feet.

River looked around her. The pool itself was at least fifty times as big as the exterior of the police box she had uncovered.

"It's bigger on the inside," she noted, gazing at the walls.

"Yes," he said, "I was rather hoping you'd say something more interesting than that."

"Why do you live in a swimming pool?"

"That's more like it. It's called the Tardis, specialist, modern, wibbly, wobbly, Gallifrean technology. Well, I say modern, it's quite old actually. And by wibbly, wobbly, well, it's more spacey wacey…"

"Oh shut up!" cried River, "Do you always talk this much?"

The Doctor was silent. "Um…not always."

"Well, don't make a habit of it," she added, walking past him and through the doors of the swimming pool. The Doctor murmured an uncertain, "Um…right," and followed.

River stared around the next room and laughed, "A billard room?" She shook her head and walked right through it, into the next room. The Doctor tottered behind her, "What exactly are you looking for?"

"A towel," she replied, "I can't think with wet hair." She stopped again in the next room, "A study. Nice. Bit of a 19th century enthusiast, are we?"

The Doctor shook his head and laughed, "No!"

River pushed past a chest of drawers.

"Careful!" cried the Doctor, "That's Rococo!"

River smirked back at him and strode on. She didn't even stop in the next room but chuckled again, "An old fashioned dining room. Have many guests to dinner, do you?" She picked up a candlestick and put it down on a chair.

"Um, no…" mumbled the Doctor, obsessively replacing the candlestick in its exact original position on the table and following River to the next room. In this one, she stopped and looked around. The entire room was made of glass window frames and there were two cosy chairs with magazines strewn around. "A conservatory?" she smirked, "Hang on, a dining room, study, billiard room and conservatory? This is beginning to sound very familiar!"

The Doctor looked down at his feet sheepishly, "I was really into Cluedo when I built it."

River tossed her head back and laughed, "I can't believe this would happen to me!" She marched on into the next room, thankfully for her, a bathroom. She pulled a red towel from the rail and began to dry her hair. The Doctor stood in the doorway, arms folded.

"You could really do with buying some better quality towels!" remarked River, massaging her temples.

"Buy new towels? What's wrong with these?"

"They're red!"

"So?" replied the Doctor, "What's wrong with red? Red is the colour of roses and hearts and fezzes! Red is cool!"

"It looks like someone spilled a can of tomato soup over it!" retorted River, "Buy some new ones!"

The Doctor put his hands to his hips, "Buy some new ones? Look, you don't live here yet, you know!"

River looked up at him slowly and he looked back at her, realising what he'd said.

"Yet?" she replied, looking at him quietly. She looked down at the towel. In the corner, in gold thread, were embroidered the initials, "R.S." River looked up at him.

"Dry your hair," he said quietly, "You can't think when it's wet. Then, come up to the main control room."

"How will I know to find it?"

The Doctor gave a little smile, "You've got to learn someday."


	3. Chapter 3

A few minutes later, River had not only dried her hair but found the control room. The Doctor seemed to have perked up a bit.

"Told you you'd find it!" he grinned as she came in.

"So this is your Tardy?" she asked, as she stepped in through the inner doors.

"Tardis," corrected the Doctor, "Although, on occasion, she can be rather tardy, as well."

At this moment, the engine of the Tardis whirred and the Doctor fell back against the sides. River, on the other hand, held steadfast onto one of the railings.

"What's wrong?" she cried, holding out a hand to help the Doctor up. The Doctor didn't take it.

"Nothing," he replied, "I think she heard me, that's all."

"Then why are we shaking like this? Can't you stop it?"

"No! That's just the way it is!" he shouted over the noise of the engine.

"Wait!" replied River, "What does this do?" She pulled a small lever in front of her. Suddenly, the Tardis became steady and she let go of the railing. River smiled with satisfaction. "First day at the wheel and I've already done something right!"

The Doctor frowned, "You've taken all the fun out of it now!"

"Fun?" retorted River, "It was making my stomach churn!"

"Ah," said the Doctor, "Well, there you go, human stomachs. Very unpredictable."

River stared at him for a moment.

"Oh!" cried the Doctor, "Sorry! I'm not used to this sort of thing that often! Well, I say often, I do it quite a bit of the time but…"

"Shut up!" she groaned, "God, are you like this all the time?"

The Doctor paused for a moment, then replied, "Yeah."

"So you are?"

"Time Lord. Last of them."

"Time Lords? What are they, some of sort of pathetic watch-making aristocracy or something?"

"Alien race. Planet Gallifrey. Of course, they're all gone now. Planet was destroyed."

"Alien race?" said River, "I don't believe this!"

The Doctor took her hands, "It's true, River. It is."

She looked into his eyes, "You know my name. How?"

The Doctor looked away and let go. "I can't tell you that." She sat down on the floor of the Tardis. "Have we met before?"

The Doctor knelt down to join her. "In your timeline…no," he said, "In mine…many times. River, I'm a Time Lord. I travel through time. This…Tardis of mine, it's a time machine. Probably the only one left. Like me." He looked sombrely down at River's hands. "River," he continued, "You're eighteen years old and this is the first time you've met me that you can remember. I am…well, very, very old. And you are going to meet me again and again. I'll never go away, I won't. But you must understand now that I know things about you and I can't tell you them – that could affect both our histories."

River was silent for a minute, taking it all in. "Prove it to me. Prove it."

"Prove what?"

"Anything. Anything of what you've said. Because if any of it's true, then chances are the rest will be. So prove it. Tell me something that no one else knows but me."

The Doctor smiled, "You're thinking 'Mother warned me about these types of men.'"

River smirked back, "Actually, that was Dad. But close enough." She stood up. "So," she said, "What now? Keep digging, River?"

"My Tardis – it's um…stuck. I need you to help get it out again."

"Me?" replied River, "Oh, no, Mr Time Lord Doctor person. You want this thing out of there, you are going to have to help too."

"I said help! I didn't say you'd have to do it by yourself"

"Good," replied River firmly, "But we'll have to sit out this thunderstorm first. I'm not going back out there in this weather – I've only just dried off."

It was at this point she remembered her diary.

"My diary!" she cried, "It's probably still floating about in the swimming pool!"

She made to go up the stairs to find the pool again but the Doctor held her back and, after pressing a few buttons, her diary materialised on the floor of the Tardis. She picked it up. "Look at it! It's ruined!"

The Doctor lazily held out his sonic screwdriver and it flashed as it spurted out hot air. "The ink's probably all run already!" she gasped and opened the pages. The writing was perfectly intact and the entire book was completely dry – there was no sign of any submersion, apart from the slightly curled edges.

"Psychic ink. It stays there as long as I want it to."

River looked at him, doubtfully, "Psychic ink?"

"Well, I say psychic, it's more like…"

"Oh don't start that again! Psychic ink? Is that your trade then, selling psychic stationery?"

"No! Well, I do have some psychic notepaper but…" The Doctor pulled out a notepad and tossed it in the air. River caught it. "What do you use it for?"

The Doctor grinned, "Well, let's say you caught me speeding…"

River looked down at the paper, then looked up, smiling, "Detective Inspector John Smith? Is that your name then?"

"No," smirked the Doctor, "Actually, if you look at the paper, you'll find I'm the President. Hang on, I've changed my mind, I think I'll be Brad Pitt – no, how about Frank Sinatra?"

River began giggling. 'For Heaven's sake, stop giggling!' she told herself but the impossibility of the situation she was in was too much for her and she had to take a deep breath to stop laughing.

"So what is your name, then?" she asked, an amused smile on her face.

"The Doctor."

"Just the Doctor? What's your real name?"

The Doctor looked at her seriously for a moment and, in a somewhat grave tone, replied, "Oh, trust me, River Song. You'll find out someday."


	4. Chapter 4

River didn't let her inner feeling of puzzlement pass her face and she simply looked back down at the notepad. "Well, I think I'll have some of this, then!" she declared, ripping out half of the pages and pocketing them.

"Oi!" cried the Doctor, "That's brand new, that is!"

"You should be more careful with it, then, shouldn't you?" she replied, tossing the rest back to him. "Now," she said, "Anyone else on this crate?"

"No," replied the Doctor, stroking his massacred notepad, "Just me."

"What? No girlfriend?" she said, a teasing smile on her face, "Or boyfriend?"

The Doctor shook his head quizzically, "No. That's why you're here."

She stared back at him, a bemused but surprised expression to her.

"No, no!" replied the Doctor quickly, "I mean, no one to help get me out of here! I didn't mean…"

River smiled, "Talk about coming on strong. I think you've been down here long enough!"

"No, no!" bumbled the Doctor but River ignored him and walked to the door.

"Come on, then!" she called as she pushed open the doors of the Tardis, "Give me a leg up!"

The Doctor rushed over to the door and stood there, unsure of what to do.

"Come on!" River snapped, impatiently, "I can't do this by myself!"

The Doctor gave an awkward, "Um..right. OK," and put a hand on her foot.

"You're going to have to do better than that!" smiled River, hanging down from the doors. The Doctor sighed and put a hand on her thigh, pushing upwards.

"Don't go getting any ideas, Doctor!" she called down as she was elevated up out of the Tardis. The Doctor shook his head in amusement.

"Come on, skinny!" she called down, peering through the open doors, "You're next!"

She held down her hands. "I don't need any help!" protested the Doctor as he feebly tried to pull himself up through the space. After five minutes of abortive attempts at lifting himself out of the Tardis, River grew impatient and pulled him out by his collar. "Men!" she declared, "Always trying to be tough! What would Mum say if she saw me now?"

The Doctor smiled, "She'd probably say, 'Where'd you dig him up from?'"

There was a pause. Then they both began giggling hysterically. After a moment, River pulled herself to her feet. "Right," she said, "Let's get to work." She picked up the shovel. "What about me?" the Doctor asked.

"You can have that," she replied, pointing at the trowel.

"It's tiny!" exclaimed the Doctor, picking it up, "It's not even a mini-spade, it's a…a micro-spade!"

"Oh shut up!" she cried and set to, shovelling earth behind her. The Doctor reluctantly got to his knees and started digging the other side.

"How do you do this?" he muttered, casually poking the soil with the trowel.

"You _dig _with it, Doctor!" she replied, drily, focusing on the shovel.

He pushed the trowel into the ground. It sunk in neatly. Then, he pressed on the top of the handle and some earth came out. He deposited it beside him and smiled. "Hey River! I'm getting the hang of this!" he cried as he buried the blade of the trowel back into the soil and pushed down on the handle again. This time he pushed so forcefully that the soil flew up into the air and landed – straight on River's head. She dropped her shovel and glared at him.

"Um…sorry?" he said but she just continued glaring.

"I hate you!" she growled.

There was silence for a moment, then, the Doctor smiled and muttered, "I thought it was an improvement."

"That's it!" snapped River and she sprang on him, smearing handfuls of dirt into his face. The Doctor fell back, crying, "_No, _River!" and he wriggled and writhed underneath her to escape the pocketfuls of mud that were hitting his cheeks. He gave up trying to escape though, and began to throw dirt into her face as well. Pretty soon, they were both in hysterics, giggling and laughing on the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

"We are _never _going to get the Tardis out of there at this rate!" laughed the Doctor.

River chuckled and lay back on the grass. The Doctor put his head down next to her.

"So who are you, Doctor?" she asked, looking into his eyes.

He looked back, "No one."

"So, I've dreamt you, have I?"

"No," he replied.

"You're right," she added, "I couldn't have dreamt in such detail."

He smiled, "Don't you have any dreams, River Song?"

She smiled back, wearily, "I don't have time for dreams."

He frowned. "Everyone dreams, River. It's what keeps us going. Makes us alive."

She looked up into the sky, "I gave up on them a long time ago."

"What were they?"

She sighed, "When I was little, I dreamt of being an archaeologist. Thought I liked the title of 'Professor River Song.' Some dream. I couldn't even afford a first degree."

"You came here, didn't you?"

She laughed, bitterly, "I faked it. Made up some fake university. They didn't ask for proof and…I got it. There isn't a _thing _I don't know about archaeology. But on paper, I'm nothing." She sighed deeply. "Do you know, it's mad? I don't know why I'm telling you this."

"Don't be ashamed," he said, "People do. And one day, River Song, you are going to be everything you ever dreamed about."

She smiled and tossed her head back. "What about you, Doctor? Or do Time Lords not have dreams?"

The Doctor sighed, "Problem is I've had too many of them come true. The dreams. The nightmares. Guy like me's got to be careful. Careful what he wishes for."

"And what have you wished for?"

The Doctor smiled, "Oh, many things, River Song. All the things you wish for when you're a child. The selfish things. The impulsive things. To go to the end of the universe and back."

River smiled, "And did they come true?"

"Some of them."

"And how was the end of the universe?"

"I never said I'd been there."

River sat up and looked down at him. "No," she said, "But there's something…old about you. Something that isn't surprised anymore. Like you've already been there."

She laughed, "I'm being silly."

The Doctor sat up and faced her, "Would you like to go there, River? End of the universe?"

"Would you take me?" she asked.

"If you wanted me to."

"Then," she replied, "We'd better get digging." She stood up and gave him her hand. He took it and she hoisted him up. "I'm still taking the shovel, though, skinny!"

"Do you have to call me that?"

"What? Skinny?"

"Yeah. Couldn't you call me something nicer? Like sweetie, or something?"

"You want me to call you Sweetie?"

"Actually, no," he said, shaking his head, "I've changed my mind, don't call me that."

"Alright, sweetie."

"I said, don't call me that!"

"Of course not. Here's your trowel, sweetie."

"Stop it!"

"Not a chance, sweetie."

At that, they set to again, digging and tilling the soil. By the time they'd dug around the Tardis, it was already nightfall.

"Good work. You'd make a tip top archaeologist!" River noted, standing proudly with her hands on her hips.

"We still need to get her upright," the Doctor added, going to the top of the Tardis.

"Is she heavy?"

The Doctor blinked. "I don't know."

River frowned. "We'll have to wait for the team to get back tomorrow to lever her up."

"What?" cried the Doctor, "Nonsense! Let's do it ourselves!"

"It'd take forever!"

"No!" replied the Doctor, "Come on, River! When have you ever turned down a challenge?"

River looked back at him, "Often."

The Doctor seemed surprised, "Yeah, but was it fun?"

He smiled and she knew he had won. At that, she joined him at the head of the Tardis and began lifting. Surprisingly, her added strength made all the difference and the Tardis wasn't as heavy as it appeared. It was soon standing upright – a little tarnished and muddy but stable and steady. This seemed to invigorate the Doctor.

"Right then! My baby's back on the road!" He went over and stroked the side of it, tenderly. Then, after a moment's reunion, he turned to River and cried, "River Song, welcome back to the Tardis!"

River smiled and the Doctor opened the doors.

"Wait!" she said anxiously, "What about this massive hole in the ground?"

The Doctor looked back at her, somewhat irritated, "What? I offer you the whole of time and space and you're worried about a hole in the ground?"

"If the others come back and see this…"

"…Then you won't be here! I can show you things you've only dreamed about, River!"

"Can you, Doctor? Can you really?" She appeared quite fervent now.

He took her hands, "River," he said, smiling, "Brilliant, wonderful River Song. The adventures we'll have together – they're the kind you only dream about."

She smiled, "You know a lot about me, Doctor. But you won't tell me anything. My future – it's like an unwritten movie. If you tell me anything, it'll be like releasing spoilers too early. Am I right?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Then I think I'll be a sensible girl, like Mum told me to be. It's true I'm nothing right now – but if I'm going to be anything, I want to make it for myself. I don't want you, or anyone else, on or off this planet, to help me. You understand, don't you?"

The Doctor smiled, knowingly, "I knew you'd say that."

"Of course, you knew," replied River, "You know everything about me, don't you?"

He nodded again. "If you're staying here," he added, "Then at least let me give you this." He held out something black that looked vaguely like a watch, "It's a time vortex manipulator. It'll take you anywhere, any time. The coordinates are currently set to wherever the Tardis is." He looked into her eyes, "Call me."

She took it from him, "Oh," she said, "You can count on that." She took his hand and shook it, "Goodbye, Doctor."

He looked back at her, "Goodbye River."


	6. Chapter 6

She turned away and began walking. The Doctor turned to go back inside the Tardis.

'Oh come on!' she told herself, 'You can't just leave it at that!' She turned around.

"Doctor!" she called, desperately. He turned back. She ran to him and in one movement, pulled him close and kissed him. It was not the longest kiss nor the sweetest but as she pulled away, although she shook all over, inside her was a feeling of deep satisfaction. The Doctor smiled, "Goodbye River Song."

'Oh God!' she thought, 'What have I done? I've blown it! I've blown it for good!'

The Doctor turned towards the Tardis but stopped and turned back, "See you soon."

She nodded, a feeling of relief sweeping over her. With that, the Doctor withdrew into the Tardis and she turned away and began walking. She did turn back, however, when she heard the soft hum of the Tardis, dematerialising into the atmosphere. Somehow, its disappearance didn't surprise her – it comforted her. She would remember that sound her entire life. And yet, what kind of life did she have? Ignored by her colleagues, shunned by everyone, estranged from her parents. Not much luck with the fellers and always on the run from something. It was pointless, worthless. It was _boring! _And she had turned down the most exciting opportunity she had ever been offered in her life! To travel the Universe with someone who actually _understood _her!

'What's the _matter _with you, River?' she asked herself, a deep sense of resentment welling within her. It was then that she realised what was in her hand.

'That time gadget.' She looked around her, at the massive hole in the ground and sighed.

Meanwhile, the Doctor was racing around the control panel. He had things to do, places to go, people to meet but that kiss was still lingering with him. "Still got it!" he said aloud with pride and flicked a couple of levers. The Tardis whirred and flashed, throwing him across the room. Then, it settled down as he landed. He flicked another lever to keep the Tardis in place and then looked to the panel of the Tardis. "Alrighty, Universe, what have you got for me next?" he announced with joy. Suddenly, there was a knocking on the doors. They flung open, wind racing in and a figure blocked the light from outside. From behind him, as he turned, the Doctor heard the soon-to-be-familiar words, "Hello Sweetie!"


End file.
